Embassy Suites Hotel, Saratoga Springs, Could Be Done By Third Quarter Of 2014

October 15, 2013

Officials for DCG Development, Hilton Worldwide and other dignitaries donned hard hats and grabbed shovels for a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new hotel in Congress Plaza

By R.J. Deluke

Construction has been under way for weeks,
but ground was officially broken on Oct. 3 for
the new hotel project in Congress Plaza – an
Embassy Suites Hotel.

In the spring, DCG Development, Clifton
Park, announced it was going to construct a
6-story hotel in the plaza after demolition of a
group of buildings in the plaza’s northwest corner,
across from the CVS Pharmacy. The facility
had no affiliation at the time, but has since
become part of the Hilton Worldwide group.

Officials said it would be the third Embassy
Suites Hotel in New York state and the first in
the state with Hilton’s “latest design concept.”
Donald MacElroy, vice president of DCG,
said the hotel is expected to be finished in the
third quarter of 2014.

The hotel will have its own restaurant, as well as an indoor swimming pool and hot tub. There will be 5,000 square feet of meeting space.

Buildings have been demolished and the main contractor, Bast Hatfield of Clifton Park is already doing excavation work. But officials from DCG, Bast Hatfield and Hilton Worldwide took the time to launch a formal groundbreaking ceremony, attended by local officials and dignitaries.

Karen Whitman, director of development, Hilton Worldwide, said the end result “promises to be Saratoga Springs’ best hotel,” noting that DCG “has proven to be an exemplary franchisee for Hilton.”

She said “during the week, it’s a business hotel … but on weekends it’s really a different environment because families love us.” MacElroy said the city has been very cooperative with the project, and while there are a few issues still being worked out with the city’s Design Review Commission, DCG plans a “very aggressive schedule” to get the project completed.

Dennis Brobston, president of the Saratoga Economic Development Corp., said the hotel project “shows the dynamic growth still available to Saratoga Springs and the county.” He said having an investment of this size within the city is key to continuing economic development successes. “Money does move the engine of business,” he said. “We expect to see more of that (investment) because of things like this (the new hotel).”

Mayor Scott Johnson said the hotel was emblematic of the continued economic growth “that continues to build on what Saratoga is and will become in the future.”

Such projects expand the tax base, make it more affordable for residents and businesses in the city, which is “key to our economic future,” the mayor said.

Frost Hurff Architects in Saratoga Springs, working with The LA Group, designed the hotel.